Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh on Friday called upon district presidents to strengthen the party at the grassroots level and actively raise public issues such as the NEET paper leak, rising inflation, deteriorating law and order and restrictions on democratic rights by the state government like protests in Haryana.
Rao chaired a monthly review meeting of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee at Jat Dharamshala in the city, and reviewed organisational, political and public outreach activities undertaken by district units over the past month. On the sideline of the meeting, while interacting with media persons, Rao said that the Congress was fully prepared for the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Haryana and has constituted an 18-member committee to monitor and coordinate the exercise across the state.
“SIR is going to start in Haryana. We have formed a committee of 18 members and BLA-1s and district presidents have already been trained by All India Congress trainers. Districts have been assigned to committee members and training programmes will now be conducted at the block level. We will ensure that no genuine voter is deleted from the electoral rolls. We believe in the Constitution and will not allow the deletion of genuine voters,” he said.
The state Congress chief also dismissed rumours about the removal of district presidents, saying no such decision was under consideration. He also clarified that at present no one is working president in Congress. “I was assigned the responsibility of Haryana Congress president while former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was appointed CLP leader. At present there is no working president in the state.” He maintained that the remaining organisational structure would be constituted soon.
Rejecting reports of internal differences within the Congress, Rao said all leaders were united in their efforts to strengthen the organisation. “If there is any rift, it is in the BJP. All Congress leaders are working together to strengthen the party and take people’s issues forward,” he said.
Rao also criticised the Haryana government’s decision to impose restrictions on protests, rallies and public demonstrations till September 30. Describing the move as an attack on democratic rights, he said people have a constitutional right to raise their grievances and demands.
“The government is trying to suppress the voice of the people through restrictions. In a democracy, it is the government’s responsibility to listen to public concerns, not silence them. Congress workers will continue to fight for people’s rights, whether the government files cases or sends us to jail,” he said.
He also condemned the reported renaming of a libraries established in the name of Dr B R Ambedkar after Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying that Babasaheb represents the Constitution, social justice and equality. “Any attempt to undermine his legacy hurts the sentiments of millions. The government should immediately withdraw such decisions. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a former Prime Minister, and if the BJP wants to honour him, it should name other projects after him,” he said.
Commenting on the suspension of a teacher for participating in a protest of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Rao said every citizen has the democratic right to raise a voice against policies they consider wrong. However, he said that government employees should exercise caution while participating in political activities. During the meeting, extensive discussions were held on organisational expansion, booth management, public outreach campaigns and future protest programmes. State president along with Jitendra Baghel, co-incharge of Haryana Congress Affairs also directed district presidents to strengthen the party at the booth level and maintain continuous engagement with the public.
